Urinary Incontinence
Source American Academy of Family Physicians
March 10, 2005
Urinary incontinence means that you can’t always control when you urine. As a result you wet your pants. This can be embarrassing; but it can be treated. About 12 million adults in the United States have urinary incontinence. It’s most common in women over 50 years old. But it can also affect younger people, especially women who have just given birth.
Half of the time, urinary incontinence is caused by a medical condition other than a bladder problem. At other times, it may be caused by weakened pelvic muscles or other things.
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Causes of urinary incontinence
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If your urinary incontinence is caused by something that can be treated, the incontinence will go away when the cause is successfully treated. Incontinence can also be treated with special exercises, called Kegel exercises. These exercises help strengthen the muscles that control the bladder and can be done anywhere, any time. You can also train your bladder. Start by urinating at set intervals whether you feel the need to go or not. Then gradually lengthen the time between when you urinate until you are urinating every three or four hours. Losing weight if you are heavy may help. Biofeedback has also been used to overcome incontinence. Biofeedback uses complex machines that give pictures and sounds to show how well you are controlling your pelvic muscles.
